Biocompatible coatings for implantable medical devices are becoming increasingly important throughout the medical device industry. For example, lubricious coatings such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyurethane, polyester, vinyl resin, fluorocarbons, silicone, rubber and combinations thereof have been applied to medical devices such as stents. Many of these coated medical devices suffer from drawbacks. For example, the coatings may suffer from poor adhesion to medical device surfaces, poor lubricity, poor drug releasing properties, and/or poor biocompatibility. Thus, there is a need in the art for a medical device coating that confers improved biocompatibility to the device and/or confers desired drug elution kinetics.
Poor biocompatibility can be a major drawback in some medical devices. When medical devices have non-biocompatible surfaces, they can initiate a reaction by the human or animal body or its blood, fluids or other biologic membranes which may result in serious patient complications such as inflammation and/or rejection. Medical devices have, therefore, conventionally been made of relatively inert plastic or elastomeric materials. These materials, however, still have varying degrees of biocompatibility.
Infections associated with medical devices also represent a major health care problem. Hospital acquired infections (nosocomial infections) are the 11th leading cause of death in the US and cost over $2 billion annually. A significant percentage of these infections are related to microbe colonization of implanted medical implants such as Foley catheters (urinary tract infections), endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes (respiratory tract infections), vascular infusion catheters (bloodstream infections), and hernia patches. Common infectious agents that can infect medical implants include, e.g., catheters. Staphylococci (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. pyogenes), Enterococci (E. coli), Gram Negative Aerobic Bacilli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are common pathogens. Once a medical implant becomes colonized by bacteria, it must frequently be replaced resulting in increased morbidity for the patient and increased cost to the healthcare system. Often the infected device serves as a source for a disseminated infection, which can lead to significant morbidity or even death.
A ventral hernia is a bulge or a tear forming in the surrounding tissue of the abdominal muscles. Tens of thousands of ventral hernia repairs are performed in the United States each year. A common procedure for repairing a hernia may involve implanting a hernia patch, either over the hernial opening or inside the ventral wall opening. The hernia patches can irritate the intestines due to poor biocompatibility. Placement and fixation of the hernia patch (e.g., by sutures) often cause significant pain to the subject. Further, the patches have been reported to have a likelihood of harboring bacteria, thereby leading to infections, such as surgical site infections.
Handheld objects such as touchscreen phones, iPods, GPS devices, computers and tablets can demonstrate significant amounts of microorganisms, viruses or agents that can be easily transferred to the mouth, nose, ears, or wounded areas of users, leading to infection or inflammation or both. Recent studies have demonstrated “abnormally high numbers of coliforms, a bacteria indicating fecal contamination, with about 2,700-4,200 units of bacteria” on each phone tested. Given the recent increase in use of handheld technology, both in terms of penetration within populations and in the number of times accessed per hour, it is desirable to reduce the risk of infection or inflammation or both associated with the use of such devices.